Alaska launches new Atmos Rewards program…and it’s actually pretty good

When loyalty programs announce “enhancements” or herald “exciting changes,” it’s almost always corporate code for “brace yourself for what’s coming.” It’s not that we don’t ever see positive changes, it’s just that, on balance, they tend to be more negative.

So, when Alaska announced that it was going to unveil its new, combined program with Hawaiian Airlines, we assumed that chicanery was afoot…especially once we found out that the name would be “Atmos.” Would Alaska follow the rest of its domestic counterparts by ditching its cherished distance-based earning model for one that’s revenue-based? Would it be devaluing its excellent award chart for something that gives you “Atmos” one cent per point value?

Now that we’ve seen the details, it turns out that when Alaska said that it was trying to make changes that were customer-focused, it seems like it actually meant it.

What to know about Atmos Rewards

You can choose how to earn Atmos Points: by distance, segment or ticket price

This is probably the most innovative and customer-friendly change that Atmos will bring about. Like most others, we believed that it was only a matter of time before Alaska would change its points-earning structure to be based on revenue, rather than distance flown (which makes it one of the most rewarding programs for paid flights). Greg said it best on the most recent episode of Frequent Miler on the Air: “Why wouldn’t you reward the customers who spend the most on your flights?”

Alaska had previously told us that it wanted to give people the choice of earning based on spend instead of earning based on distance…but we never considered it meant that they wanted to offer a literal choice. But that’s what they’ve done.

Starting in 2026, Atmos members will be able to earn points and status points based on either flight distance, segments flown, OR amount spent. It breaks down as follows:

• Earning by Distance: If you choose to earn points based on distance flown, nothing will change. You’ll continue to earn one point and one status point per mile flown, with bonuses for class of service and more expensive fares. You’ll also earn one status point per mile flown on award redemptions.
• Earning by Spend: If you choose to earn points based on how much you spend, you’ll earn 5 redeemable points per dollar spent and 1 status point per 20 points redeemed (so, a 20,000-point award flight would earn 1,000 status points).
• Earning by Segments: Folks who take lots of short-hop flights (like inter-Hawaiian Island, inter-Alaska, or inter-California) can choose to earn a flat 500 points for every segment that they fly, regardless of distance.

I really, really like this. At the same time, I can’t believe that we’ve never seen it before, and I also can’t believe that we’re seeing it now. Allowing each customer to decide how they would most be rewarded, rather than simply shoehorning everyone into the same structure regardless of travel habits, is about as customer-friendly as it gets. Fly lots of expensive paid fares? Choose revenue-based earnings. If you’re like me and fly lots of miles at cheaper economy fares, then choose distance-based. You can even change your preference once per year. That’s awesome.

As an aside, in contrast to a recent airline program that shall not be named, I love the combination of choice and simplicity here. You earn points that are redeemable and/or status points, which count towards, well, elite status. What you earn in either case is clear based on which earning method you choose.

You can use Atmos Points for more than just flights

Alaska is expanding what you can use points for. You’ll be able to spend your points on flights (of course), vacation rentals, hotels, experiences, cars, and even transfer your points to hotel programs. The hotel transfers are 1-1 and generally poor value, while the experiences option was previously available under the name, “Alaska Unlocked.” Now, it’s “Atmos Unlocked.”

I wasn’t terribly impressed with the value that I saw via Alaska Unlocked, but supposedly, there will soon be many more options, and at pricing that will be attractive. I’ll believe it when I see it, but I’m sure that some folks will like being able to use their points on non-flight options, regardless of whether the value is “good.”

Atmos Elite Status tiers have new names (and increased thresholds)

The old Mileage Plan Elite Levels have been renamed and, starting in 2026, two will have new threshold requirements. There are as follows:

• MVP -> Atmos Silver: Requires 20k status points
• MVP Gold -> Atmos Gold: Requires 40k status points
• MVP Gold 75K -> Atmos Platinum: Requires 75k status points in 2025, 80k in 2026
• MVP Gold 100K -> Atmos Titanium: Requires 100k status points in 2025, 135k in 2026.

The only changes here are the requirements for Platinum and Titanium. Platinum is pretty inconsequential, with a 5k threshold increase between 2025 and 2026.

The 35% increase to obtain top-tier Titanium Status is much more significant. Given that Alaska is removing the cap off the amount of status points that you can earn from spend, providing 1 status point per $2 with the new Summit Visa card, allowing rollover miles as Milestone Rewards, and giving Summit cardholders a yearly 10K boost, my sense is that the effort required to reach it won’t be that much more signficant…and I can see there being too much benefit dilution if it stayed at 100k.

Atmos Titanium will be the only domestic elite status with complimentary international business class upgrades

This is a cool one. Atmos will be the only program that will give its top-tier elites day-of-departure, space-available upgrades to business class on international flights. This will also be extended to one companion flying on the same reservation.

The combined Alaska/Hawaiian international route map is extremely modest right now, but destinations are being announced at a fairly quick clip, and Alaska says that it will be serving at least twelve overseas locations by 2030 at the latest. Allowing Titanium members to have complimentary space-available upgrades to lie-flat business class is a great move.

There are no changes to award prices (for now)

Alaska has stated that there are no plans to increase award chart prices, and that was reiterated with today’s news. All award charts are unchanged, and “saver” awards are priced at the same level as they were before the announcement.

Now, that won’t always be the case. Eventually, just like every program on Earth, Atmos will raise its award prices as cash costs go up. However, they don’t seem in a hurry to do it.

Atmos Rewards members will eventually have free wifi on Alaska and Hawaiian flights

Alaska has announced that it will begin installing high-speed Starlink wifi on all of its aircraft in 2026. By 2027, it expects that to be finished (we’ll see) and, more to the point, will provide in-flight wifi free of charge to all Atmos Rewards members. This is something that other programs already are moving towards…and one trend that I think we all can celebrate.

Quick Thoughts

It’s been a long time since I’ve been so pleasantly surprised by a loyalty program. There are some terrific new perks here: earning method choice, global top-tier upgrades, free wifi for all members, etc. The ability to choose your earning method, in particular, is an incredible feature that gives the impression that Alaska wasn’t kidding when it said it was listening to customers.

The only real negative change is the increase to the Titanium status threshold in 2026. That said, given the new boosts and status point-earning methods, it doesn’t feel like a massive increase, especially with the concurrent increase in upgrade benefits.

I’m sure that some of the shine will dim as time goes on. As I mentioned earlier, it’s not a matter of if, but when the award chart devalues. However, this first round makes me believe that Alaska truly wants a world-class rewards program. Outside of the name, that’s what Atmos appears to be.

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